Sheet feeding equipment

ABSTRACT

Equipment for feeding sheets such as punched cards provides for offsetting cards edgewise from a deck of cards and for sequentially feeding the cards from the offset position along a path extending generally parallel to the faces of the cards in the deck. The cards are transferred to the offset position by barrel rollers which are mounted on a shaft which is offset from and paralleling the cards in the deck. Each roller is mounted for rotation with its axis arranged generally tangent to a circle having as its center the axis of the mounting shaft. Each roller axis is oriented in a plane which is generally normal to the plane of the cards and positioned so that the side of the roller engages the face surface of the card at the end of the stack upon rotation of the mounting shaft. The barrel rollers can remain in contact with the card as it is moved from the offset position and freely rotate upon their own axis to permit movement of the cards by the sequential feed means in the feed path. Plural magazines which are angularly arranged with respect to one another are disclosed. Cards are fed from each magazine into a common feed path.

United States Patent 11 1 Miller 1451 Nov. 4, 1975 SHEET FEEDING EQUIPMENT Primary Examiner-Evon C. Blunk v Assistant Examiner-James W. Miller [75] Inventor: Robert J. Miller, Salford, Pa. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Synnestvedt & Lechner [73] Assignee: Decision Data Computer Corporation, Horsham, Pa. ABSTRACT [22] Filed; June 1, 1973 Equipment for feeding sheets such as punched cards provides for offsetting cards edgewlse from a deck of PP N04 365,855 cards and for sequentially feeding the cards from the offset position along a path extending generally paral- [44] Published under the Trial V Olumary Protest lel to the faces of the cards in the deck. The cards are Program on Januar 28 1975 as document no transferred to the offset position by barrel rollers B 365 855 y which are mounted on a shaft which is offset from and paralleling the cards in the deck. Each roller is 52 US. 01. 271/9; 271/111; 271/114; mmnted P 1 w arranged generally 271l120, Til/126, 271 ll 271 /225 tangent to a circle havlng as its center the axis of the [51] In. CL B65H 3/06 mounting shaft. Each roller axis is oriented in a plane 58 Field of Search 271/4, 9, 10, 95, 109-112, whch generally mm] 9 the Plane the Cards and posltloned so that the side of the roller engages 271/119, 120, 149, 184,114, 126, 225, 37,

193/37 the face surface of the card at the end of the stack upon rotation of the mounting shaft. The barrel rollers can remain in contact with the card as it is moved from the offset position and freely rotate upon their [56] References and own axis to permit movement of the cards by the se- UNITED STATES PATENTS quential feed means in the feed path. Plural magazines 1,183,333 5/1916 Wright 271/4 which are angularly arranged with respect to one an- 2,883,929 4/1959 Eichenbaum et a1. 271/9 X other are disclosed, Cards are fed from each magazine 3,160,411 12/1964 Fiehl 271/10 x into a common f d path 3,411,768 11/1968 Gatti 271/10 I 3,590,970 7/1971 Kornylak 193/37 18 Claims, 8 Drawing Figlll'QS US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 1 of3 3,917,258

US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet20f3 '3,917,258

U.S. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 3 of3 3,917,258

SHEET FEEDING EQUIPMENT FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to sheet feeding equipment'and more particularly to a feeder especially adapted for feeding perforated cards or the like from a deck in a supply magazine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Although not limited thereto, the invention is well suited for feeding punched cards, especially standard 80 and 51 column cards carrying information in the form of generally rectangular perforations located in columns extending lengthwise of the card. The invention deals with a problem which commonly arises when cards are fed column by column from a stack in a magazine when the cards are heavily punched. When a card has a large number of perforations, the lands or nonpunched webs between adjacent columns in a card tend to catch in the apertures of the adjacent card when the card is stripped from the deck. As a result, cards may be torn or two cards may be stripped simultaneously from the deck. In addition, there is a danger that cards will be in a skewed condition relative to their path of travel when they are fed from the stack due to the resistance that is encountered when lands on one card temporarily interlock with apertures on one portion of the next card as the card is being fed.

In U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,644 the above-mentioned problem of damage to cards that are heavily punched with interlocking holes and lands is discussed. The use of suction means creating a suction force to separate the cards is disclosed. In addition to this patent, it is also known in the prior art to first offset a card edgewise in a stack in a first direction prior to movement away from the stack. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,160,411, 3,561,757, 3,580,566 and 3,583,699 disclose equipment of this general type. These patents recognize in general the problems arising during the feeding of cards or thin sheets one at a time from a stack. The instant invention relates to improvements in the mechanism of the general kind disclosed in the above-identified patents.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION With the foregoing in view, it is an important object of the invention to provide simplified and reliable sheet feeding equipment.

A related object of the invention is the provision of card feeding equipment which reduces the possibility of damage to cards even when cards which are heavily punched are fed from a stack.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of equipment which substantially eliminates the simultaneous feeding of two sheets from a stack.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of card feed equipment which minimizes card skew during the feeding process.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of card feed means which is compact in construction.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are achieved by sheet feeding equipment for feeding sheets such as punched cards from a stack comprising means offset from one edge of the stack for sequentially feeding the sheet in a direction paralleling the plane of sheets in the stack, offsetting means for moving sheets edgewise of the stack by an amount less than the dimension of the sheet in the offset direction, whereby the offset sheet overlaps other sheets in the stack, said offsetting means comprising a roll assembly including a rotatable element, a mounting shaft offset from and paralleling the sheets in the stack, said element being rotatable with said shaft and being itself rotatable about an axis lying in a plane which is generally normal to the plane of the sheets, said rotatable element further moving into contact with the surface of the end sheet with its rotative axis generally parallel to the surface of the sheet upon rotation on said shaft to thereby move said sheet to the offset position, said element thereafter being free to rotate about its own axis when it is in contact with a card as it is fed in said one direction by said sequential feeding means.

The objects stated above and various other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing sheet feeding equipment formed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the equipment shown in FIG. 1 taken along line 2-2;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of certain features of the invention taken'along line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are detailed views of portions of the barrel roller assembly appearing in FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of certain portions of a feed magazine incorporating features of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional elevational view of the mechanism shown in' FIGS. 1 and 6 taken along line 77 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along line 88 of FIG. 7.

Reference is first made to FIG. 1, which shows equipment for feeding cards or the like from a pair of magazines or hoppers each generally indicated by the reference character 10. Each magazine holds a supply deck or stack of cards 11, only a few such cards being shown in each magazine in FIG. 1. The two magazines are angularly oriented with respect to one another and are provided with feed means described hereinafter for feeding the cards from an end of each deck into converging paths Where they are transported to associated equipment such as a card reader, printer, puch and sorter not shown.

In a typical operation, cards are selectively fed from one or the other deck. By way of example, of one mode of operation punched cards may be stored in one magazine and blank cards in the other. The punched cards are read as they are fed from the one magazine and the information recorded on blank cards fed from the other magazine.

A system of this kind is disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,706,074 issued to the assignee of this application.

In the description and in the drawings, like reference characters are used to identify identical parts in the two magazines and in the feed means associated therewith. In the illustrative embodiment, the two magazines have common side walls 14 and 15 and end walls 16 and 17. The cards rest on a deck or floor comprised of plates 18 each of which is provided with a raised card supporting rib 18a, there being two spaced apart plates for each magazine. Near one end of each magazine, a generally U-shaped throat plate 19 is adjustably supported on supports 20 by means of screws 21. Plates 20 are secured to the underside of the floor plates 18 with the upper surface of the throat plate 19 being at the same level as card supporting ribs 18a. The plates 18 are spaced apart to provide a central opening or slot 22.

Located immediately adjacent the throat plate 19 is a guide or throat roller 23 also seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. Plate 19 and guide or throat roller 23 form a throat through which one card at a time is transferred to an offset position by means to be described hereinafter.

Means for urging the deck of cards in a magazine towards the throat comprises a card paddle 24 which is movably mounted in each magazine and spring urged towards the throat. Each paddle 24, as best shown in FIGS. 6 through 8, has a card contact face 25 and guide portions 26 having guide surfaces 27 and 28 which ride against the side walls of the magazine. A finger grip is preferably provided at 29 so that the paddle can be easily moved by an operator as desired.

A generally L-shaped paddle carriage 30 as seen in FIG. 7 has an upright support arm extending through the slot or opening 22 in the floor of the magazine. Carriage 30 has a laterally extending arm 31 on which are mounted rollers 32 and 33. Roller 32 rides on top of a rail 34 as can be seen in FIGS. 6-8, the rail 34 being secured to the machine frame. Roller 33 rides on the undersurface of a rail 35 which is secured to the frame forwardly of the rail 34. A projection 36 best seen in FIG. 6 extends laterally from the arm 31 of carriage 30. A spring 37 is fastened at one end to the projection 36 and at its other end to the machine frame 38. Spring 37 urges the carriage and hence the card paddle 24 forward so as to urge the cards towards the throat formed between the plate 19 and roller 23.

Carriage 30 is further provided with a finger 39 at the forward end of arm 30, which finger extends over the rail 35. In addition, a finger 40 extends under the rail 34. The fingers serve to keep the carriage on the rails as the operator moves the paddle towards the rear to.

place more cards in a magazine. Another finger 41 is located to the left of finger 40 as viewed in FIG. 7. This finger extends underneath the rail 34 but provides more clearance than finger 40. When paddle 24 is moved to an extreme righthand position beyond the position shown in FIG. 7, finger 40 will be moved past the end of track 34 and the carriage may be moved upwardly slightly until the finger 41 contacts the undersurface of the rail 34. The finger 40 will sit in a slot 34a in the end of the rail 34 under the urging of spring 37 and the paddle will be held in a retracted position to facilitate loading of the magazine or servicing of the card feed equipment. The paddle remains in this position until it is moved slightly to the right as viewed-in FIGS. 6 and 7 and then downwardly to permit the finger 40 to clear the end of rail 34, after which the carriage is again'free to move along tracks 34 and35 under the urging of the spring 37.

Turning again to FIGS; 1 through 5, the means for transferring cards from a deck to the offset positionwill now be described. Acording to the invention, the card transfer means comprises individual elements having friction surfaces and being rotatable about a common axis to move the cards to the offset position. Each of the elements is further rotatable about its own axis to permit unimpeded movement of a card when an element is in contact with a card as the card is transported in a second direction from the offset position.

A shaft 42 is mounted in bearings 43 adjacent the throat of each magazine with its axis parallel to the plane of the cards in the magazine. In the illustrative embodiment, the transfer means comprises cages or carriers 44 which support friction rolls 45.'Although other shapes could be employed, the rolls 45 are preferably generally barrel shaped. The cages are keyed or otherwise secured to each shaft 42 (see FIGS. 35). The barrel rolls 45 are each mounted for free rotation about their own axis on support arms 46 on the cages 44. Preferably the outer surfaces of the support arms 46 are slightly curved as can best be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4 and for reasons discussed hereinafter have a relatively low coefficient of friction. When viewed in profile, as shown in FIG. 3, the assembly of cage and barrel rolls has a generally circular or wheel shaped outer periphery which contacts the face of the end card in a deck. Rotational movement of the assembly moves the end card downwardly through the throat formed by plate 19 and roller 23 until the card rests on a card downstop plate 47 located immediately beneath the throat.

As indicated above, the invention is especially useful in the feeding of heavily punched cards. According to the invention, the barrel roll assembly transfers the.

cards a partial card width, the distance preferably being sufficient so that the perforations in the rows of a card being fed are completely out of registrationwith the perforations in any rows in the succeeding card. In using a standard size column card in the illustrative embodiment, the position ofthe card before it istransferred is shown by the uppermost broken lines in FIGS. 2 and 3. The offset position of the card after transfer is shown in full lines in FIG. 3 and is also indicated in.

broken lines in FIG. 2 and identified by the reference character 49.

After a card is fed to the offset position, it is thereafter fed lengthwise by means described hereinafter. Preferably each shaft 42 and thus the barrel roll assembly is driven by a selectively energizable clutch 50 whichis engaged each time a card is to be fed. Control means, not shown, are provided to repeatedly engage one clutch to feed the cards from one magazine or to alternately engage the clutches for the two magazines as for example where it is desired to prepare new cards which are fed from one magazine from previously punched cards fed from the other magazine. Drive means comprising a belt 51 and an electric motor not shown are provided for rotating clutches 50 and hence the drive shaft 42 when its clutch is engaged. Control means comprising a photodetector 60 which is located adjacent the surface of donwstop 47, disengages the clutch 50 when the card is in registry with the surface.

Asindicated above, when a card is transferred by the roll assembly, it is then transported by the feed means to a card reader or other associated equipment. Al-

though other feed meanscould be provided, preferably feeding from the offset position is accomplished by means comprised of a continuously rotating friction.

roll 53 which is driven via belt 54 shown in broken lines in FIG.'1. As can be seen in FIG. 2 the feed roll 53 is located in the position which is offset from the bottom edge of the cards in the magazine in such position as to engage'the surface of the card after it is fed through .the

throatrby the transfer or offsetting mechanism. A pair of pinch rolls 55 each having a tapered upper portion is mounted on a plate 56 which is pivotally mounted on a pin 57. Plate 56 is moved by electromagnets 58. Control means not shown selectively energize the electromagnets to pivot the plate towards one or the other of the feed rolls so as to draw a pinch roll toward its associated rotating roll 53. This occurs whenever a'card is in the offset position in the particular magazine from which cards are to be fed, and assures that the card is held against the surface of the continuously rotating friction roll 53 and positively transferred.

An important aspect in the invention lies in the fact that the rolls 45 are freely rotatable about their own axis. As can be seen especially in FIG. 3 the axis of the' roll in contact with a card in the offset position is generally parallel to the surface of the card. The importance of this is that a barrel roll can be in contact with the surface of the card being fed from the offset position since it can freely rotate about its axis upon movement of the card at the time the card is fed. Since outer surfaces of the cage arms have a low coefficient of friction, the surfaces will not retard movement of cards if they happen to be in contact with a card at the time it is fed. Thus the barrel roll assembly serves to guide the card being fed and will not offer resistance to the advance of the card.

The operation of the illustrative embodiment of the invention will now be briefly reviewed. Considering one magazine having a supply of cards therein, the cards are urged towards the throat formed between throat roller 23 and throat plate 19 by means of spring urged paddle 24. Engagement of clutch 50 causes rotation of the barrel roll assembly moving a card downwardly until its bottom edge is in registration with downstop plate 47. In this position the roller surface of the card is positioned between continuously operating sequential feed means comprising roller 53 and pinch roll 55. Energization of electromagnets 58 cause pivotal movement of pinch roll 55 so that it holds in engagement with the continuously operating roll 53 which thereupon moves the card along its feed path. During movement in this direction, the rolls of the barrel roll assembly which are in contact with the card rotate freely allowing for unrestricted movement of the card. Throat roll 23 is formed of a material having a relatively low coefficient of friction so that movement of the card is not impeded by this roll. Once the card has moved past the feed means comprising the feed roll 53, the next card is offset by the barrel roll assembly.

Although the invention is of particular utility in the feeding of punched cards, the provision of means to partially offset a sheet from a stack is of utility in the transfer of other sheets, as for example, checks. The offsetting function makes it possible to positively grip a sheet thereby assuring the feeding of sheets of a variety of types. The use of a rotatable transfer means which is wheel shaped in profile and which is made up of a plurality of friction elements which are rotatable about axes which are tangent to a circle having as its center the axis of the transfer means has been proven to be very effective in the transfer of cards to a position offset from a deck of cards. The fact that the wheel shaped transfer means has continuity of outer surface prevents vibration of cards as they are transferred to the offset position.

I claim:

.1. Card feed equipment for feeding perforated cards or the like from a supply deck comprising; feed means offset from one edge of the deck for sequentially feeding cards in a feed path extending in a direction paralleling the plane of the cards in the deck, and transfer mechanism for transferring individual cards edgewise from an end of the deck in a direction transverse to said one direction and into said feed path, said transfer mechanism including a support member mounted on an axis spaced from and paralleling the cards in the deck and further including a barrel shaped roller carried by said support member, said support member being rotatable about said axis and said roller being freely rotatable on'an axis which is generally tangent to a circle having as its center the axis of the support member and which lies in a plane which is generally normal to the face surface of the cards in the deck, said barrel roller being positioned to engage the face surface of the card at the endof the deck, intermittently operable means for rotating said barrel roller about the axis of said support member to move a card into said feed path, the barrel roller and said support member being positioned in relation to the sequential feeding means so that the barrel roller remains in contact with the card when the card is offset andfreely rotates when in engagement with said offset card as the card is fed in said one direction by the sequential feeding means.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said transfer mechanism further comprises a plurality of barrel shaped rollers spaced about said mounting shaft, each of said rollers being freely rotatable on an axis which is generally tangent to a circle having at its center the axis of the shaft and which lies ina plane which is generally normal to the surface of cards in the deck.

3. Mechanism accordingto claim 1, wherein said sequential feed means comprises a constantly rotating friction roller and holding means for urging the sheet into contact with the periphery of the friction roller after it is transferred by said offsetting means.

4. Mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the holding means comprises a pivotally mounted pinch roll spaced from the friction roll and means for moving the pinchroll towards the friction roll when the card is transferred by the offset means.

5. Punched card equipment for feeding punched cards from a supply deck, feeding means offset from one edge'of the deck for sequentially feeding cards in a path in a direction paralleling the plane of cards in the deck, and mechanism for transferring individual cards edgewise from an end of the deck in a direction transverse to said one direction and into said feed path, said mechanism including a transfer assembly, said assembly being mounted for rotation on' an axis offset from and paralleling the cards in the deck and further including a plurality of rotatable friction elements, each said element having its rotative axis generally oriented so that it is tangent to a circle having as its center the axis of the assembly, said elements being oriented so that upon rotation of the assembly a friction element engages with the surface of a card and transfers the card to the sequential feeding means, intermittently operable means for rotation of the assembly by an amount which offsets said card into said feed path, the friction elements being freely rotatable about their own axis so that any element in contact with the card as it is advanced by the sequential feeding means permits unrestricted card advancement in said direction paralleling the plane of cards in the deck.

6. Equipment according to claim 5, wherein said assembly comprises a cage element rotatable about said assembly axis, said cage element having arms for supporting said rotatable friction. elements.

7. Equipment according to claim 6 wherein said rotatable friction elements have a generally circular cross section.

8. Equipment according to claim 1 wherein said rotatable friction elements have a generallybarrel shaped profile.

9. Equipment according to claim 8 wherein said cage element arms extend radially by amounts which permit contact with the surface of a card and further have an outline which is curved to form with said barrel shaped friction elements an assembly having a wheel shaped profile.

10. Equipment according to claim 9 wherein the outer surfaces of said cage element arms have a relative low coefficient of friction whereby said surfaces do not restrict card movement upon card feed by saidsequential feed means.

11. Sheet feeding equipment for feeding punched cards or like sheets from a stack comprising means offset from one edge of the stack for sequentially feeding sheets in a direction paralleling the plane of sheets in the stack, intermittently operable offsetting means for moving sheets edegwise of the stack by an amount less than the dimension of the sheet in the direction of movement but sufficient to bring punch locations on one card out of registry with punch locations on the next card when the first named card is moved in said one direction, whereby the offset sheet overlaps over sheets in the stack, said offsetting means comprising barrel roller means including a rotatable barrel element, a carrier for said barrel roller means said carrier being rotatable on an axis offset from and paralleling the sheet in the stack, said barrel element having its axis in a plane which is generally normal to the plane of the sheets and being movable upon rotation of said carrier into contact with the, surface of the end sheet in the stack with its rotative axis generally parallel to the surface of the sheet upon rotation on said shaft, to thereby move said sheet to the offset position, said barrel roller being rotatable about its own axis whereby card movement is not impeded when the barrel roller is in contact with the surface of the sheet as the card is fed in said one direction by said sequential feed means.

12. Mechanism according to claim 11 wherein said barrel roller means comprises a plurality of rotatable barrel elements disposed on said carrier and wherein each said barrel element being mounted with its axis in a plane which is generally normal to the plane of the sheets, the outer most part of the side surfaces of said barrel elements generally forming a circular assembly having as its center the axis of rotation of the carrier when the elements and said carrier are viewed in profile.

13. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said carrrier is provided with support arms for said barrel elements, the outer surfaces of said arms having a relatively low coefficient of friction and being curved to conform to said circular profile.

14. Mechanism according to claim 13, wherein said I sequential feed means comprises a constantly rotative friction roller and selectively operable means for press ing the sheet into contact with the periphery of thefriction roll after it is transferred by said offsetting means.

15. Mechanism according to claim 14, wherein the pressing means comprise a pivotally mounted pinch roll spaced from the friction roll and means for moving the pinch roll towards the friction roll when the card is transferred by the offsetting means.

16. Card feed equipment according to claim '1 wherein the punch location on said cards are organized into a pattern of columns with the positions within the columns being aligned with positions in adjacent columns so that unpunched bands between punch positions extend lengthwise of each card, and wherein said transfer mechanism includes means for limiting the extent to an movement of each card in the transverse direction an amount necessary to position the unpunched bands on one card in alignment with the punch loca-' tions on the next cards.

17. In a card feed mechanism, first and second card hoppers, each being adapted to store a deck of cards and being positioned so that the cards in the hopper are oriented in planes which are acutely angled with respect to one another, feeding means located between i the two hoppers, and comprising continuously driven friction roll means adjacent each magazine, said roll means being offset from the cards in each magazine,

said friction roll means being oriented to move cards along converging feed paths, there being one feed path for each hopper selectively operable mechanism'for offsetting individual cards edgewise from the end of the deck in each hopper into position to be advanced by said friction roll means along the feedpath associated with that hopper, said offsetting mechanism including a mounting shaft adjacent each deck being spaced in parallel relationship with the cards in the deck and including a friction roller element carried by each said shaft and being freely rotatable on an axis which is normal to a radius extending from the axis of the shaft, said means following movement of a card to said offset posi-.

tion. 7

18. Card feed equipment according to claim 17 wherein the punch locations on said cards are organized into a pattern of columns with the positions within the columns being aligned with positions in adja cent'columns so that unpunched bands between punch positions extend lengthwise of each card, and wherein said transfer mechanism includes means for limiting the extent of movement of each card in the transverse direction to an amount necessary to position the unpunched bands on one card in alignment with the punch locations on the next cards.

Page 1 of 2 UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO. 1 3,917,258

DATED 1 November 4, 1975 |NVENTOR(S) Robert J. Miller It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent 0 are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the title page, "ABSTRACT" should be --ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE- Column 1, line 66, "sheet" should be -sheets--. a Column 2, line 27, should be Column 2, line 48, "puch" should be punch-.

a Column 4 line 55, "donwstop" should be -downstop Column 4, line 62, insert --a.- after the word "of".

Column 5, line 6, "toward" should be -towards--.

Column 7, line 10, "1" should be -7.

Column 7, line 29, "edegwise" should be -edgewise--.

A Column 7, line 39, "sheet" should be -sheets-.

Column 8, line 2 "13" should be ---l2- Column 8, line 8, "comprise" should be -comprises".

Column 8, line 13, "location" should be -locations--. Column 8 line 19, "to an" should be of- Column 8, line 20, "to" is omitted before the word "an".

Page 2 of UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK 0F rICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO. 1 3,917 DATED November 4, 1975 |NV ENTOR( 1 Robert J. Miller It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 8, line 25, "hopper" should be -hoppers-.

Column 8, line 33, insert after the word "hopper".

Column 8 lines 29, 30 and 45 "magazine" should be -hopper.

Column 8, line 44, "sheet" should be card-.

Signed and Sealed this thirteenth Day of April1976 [SEAL] A ttes t: 

1. Card feed equipment for feeding perforated cards or the like from a supply deck comprising; feed means offset from one edge of the deck for sequentially feeding cards in a feed path extending in a direction paralleling the plane of the cards in the deck, and transfer mechanism for transferring individual cards edgewise from an end of the deck in a direction transverse to said one direction and into said feed path, said transfer mechanism including a support member mounted on an axis spaced from and paralleling the cards in the deck and further including a barrel shaped roller carried by said support member, said support member being rotatable about said axis and said roller being freely rotatable on an axis which is generally tangent to a circle having as its center the axis of the support member and which lies in a plane which is generally normal to the face surface of the cards in the deck, said barrel roller being positioned to engage the face surface of the card at the end of the deck, intermittently operable means for rotating said barrel roller about the axis of said support member to move a card into said feed path, the barrel roller and said support member being positioned in relation to the sequential feeding means so that the barrel roller remains in contact with the card when the card is offset and freely rotates when in engagement with said offset card as the card is fed in said one direction by the sequential feeding means.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said transfer mechanism further comprises a plurality of barrel shaped rollers spaced about said mounting shaft, each of said rollers being freely rotatable on an axis which is generally tangent to a circle having at its center the axis of the shaft and which lies in a plane which is generally normal to the surface of cards in the deck.
 3. Mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said sequential feed means comprises a constantly rotating friction roller and holding means for urging the sheet into contact with the periphery of the friction roller after it is transferred by said offsetting means.
 4. Mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the holding means comprises a pivotally mounted pinch roll spaced from the friction roll and means for moving the pinch roll towards the friction roll when the card is transferred by the offset means.
 5. Punched card equipment for feeding punched cards from a supply deck, feeding means offset from one edge of the deck for sequentially feeding cards in a path in a direction paralleling the plane of cards in the deck, and mechanism for transferring individual cards edgewise from an end of the deck in a direction transverse to said one direction and into said feed path, said mechanism including a transfer assembly, said assembly being mounted for rotation on an axis offset from and paralleling the cards in the deck and further including a plurality of rotatable friction elements, each said element having its rotative axis generally oriented so that it is tangent to a circle having as its center the axis of the assembly, said elements being oriented so that upon rotation of the assembly a friction element engages with the surface of a card and transfers the card to the sequential feeding means, intermittently operable means for rotation of the assembly by an amount which offsets said card into said feed path, the friction elements being freely rotatable about their own axis so that any element in contact with the card as it is advanced by the sequential feeding means permits unrestricted card advancement in said direction paralleling the plane of cards in the deck.
 6. Equipment according to claim 5, wherein said assembly comprises a cage element rotatable about said assembly axis, said cage element having arms for supporting said rotatable friction elements.
 7. Equipment according to claim 6 wherein said rotatable friction elements have a generally circular cross section.
 8. Equipment according to claim 1 wherein said rotatable friction elements have a generally barrel shaped profile.
 9. Equipment according to claim 8 wherein said cage element arms extend radially by amounts which permit contact with the surface of a card and further have an outline which is curved to form with said barrel shaped friction elements an assembly having a wheel shaped profile.
 10. Equipment according to claim 9 wherein the outer surfaces of said cage element arms have a relative low coefficient of friction whereby said surfaces do not restrict card movement upon card feed by said sequential feed means.
 11. Sheet feeding equipment for feeding punched cards or like sheets from a stack comprising means offset from one edge of the stack for sequentially feeding sheets in a direction paralleling the plane of sheets in the stack, intermittently operable offsetting means for moving sheets edegwise of the stack by an amount less than the dimension of the sheet in the direction of movement but sufficient to bring punch locations on one card out of registry with punch locations on the next caRd when the first named card is moved in said one direction, whereby the offset sheet overlaps over sheets in the stack, said offsetting means comprising barrel roller means including a rotatable barrel element, a carrier for said barrel roller means said carrier being rotatable on an axis offset from and paralleling the sheet in the stack, said barrel element having its axis in a plane which is generally normal to the plane of the sheets and being movable upon rotation of said carrier into contact with the surface of the end sheet in the stack with its rotative axis generally parallel to the surface of the sheet upon rotation on said shaft, to thereby move said sheet to the offset position, said barrel roller being rotatable about its own axis whereby card movement is not impeded when the barrel roller is in contact with the surface of the sheet as the card is fed in said one direction by said sequential feed means.
 12. Mechanism according to claim 11 wherein said barrel roller means comprises a plurality of rotatable barrel elements disposed on said carrier and wherein each said barrel element being mounted with its axis in a plane which is generally normal to the plane of the sheets, the outer most part of the side surfaces of said barrel elements generally forming a circular assembly having as its center the axis of rotation of the carrier when the elements and said carrier are viewed in profile.
 13. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said carrrier is provided with support arms for said barrel elements, the outer surfaces of said arms having a relatively low coefficient of friction and being curved to conform to said circular profile.
 14. Mechanism according to claim 13, wherein said sequential feed means comprises a constantly rotative friction roller and selectively operable means for pressing the sheet into contact with the periphery of the friction roll after it is transferred by said offsetting means.
 15. Mechanism according to claim 14, wherein the pressing means comprise a pivotally mounted pinch roll spaced from the friction roll and means for moving the pinch roll towards the friction roll when the card is transferred by the offsetting means.
 16. Card feed equipment according to claim 1 wherein the punch location on said cards are organized into a pattern of columns with the positions within the columns being aligned with positions in adjacent columns so that unpunched bands between punch positions extend lengthwise of each card, and wherein said transfer mechanism includes means for limiting the extent to an movement of each card in the transverse direction an amount necessary to position the unpunched bands on one card in alignment with the punch locations on the next cards.
 17. In a card feed mechanism, first and second card hoppers, each being adapted to store a deck of cards and being positioned so that the cards in the hopper are oriented in planes which are acutely angled with respect to one another, feeding means located between the two hoppers, and comprising continuously driven friction roll means adjacent each magazine, said roll means being offset from the cards in each magazine, said friction roll means being oriented to move cards along converging feed paths, there being one feed path for each hopper selectively operable mechanism for offsetting individual cards edgewise from the end of the deck in each hopper into position to be advanced by said friction roll means along the feed path associated with that hopper, said offsetting mechanism including a mounting shaft adjacent each deck being spaced in parallel relationship with the cards in the deck and including a friction roller element carried by each said shaft and being freely rotatable on an axis which is normal to a radius extending from the axis of the shaft, said roller element being movable upon rotation of said shaft into contact with the surface of the end sheet to offset the end card in the magazine, means for selectively operating said offsetting mechanism to ofFset cards from one or the other of said decks, and pinch roll means operable when a card is in offset position for pressing the offset card into contact with said friction roll means and means for operating said pinch roll means following movement of a card to said offset position.
 18. Card feed equipment according to claim 17 wherein the punch locations on said cards are organized into a pattern of columns with the positions within the columns being aligned with positions in adjacent columns so that unpunched bands between punch positions extend lengthwise of each card, and wherein said transfer mechanism includes means for limiting the extent of movement of each card in the transverse direction to an amount necessary to position the unpunched bands on one card in alignment with the punch locations on the next cards. 